Faithless by Karin Slaughter
Frankly, despite some initial interest and an initial hook with the buried alive surprise, for me this book became very unwieldy and slow during the midsection, the characters failed to spark my imagination or sympathies, and in the end it was all I could do to drag myself to the end, and that was because it was a loose end I wanted to tie up before going on holiday. Of course this isn’t to say it’s a bad book, as there are some good reviews on Amazon (although a few who also agree with me). If I think a book’s a cracker I will always say so, but conversely I won’t pretend to like a book if I don’t.
I think this might well be a problem with the continuing series format – maybe if I’d read the first and others in the series I would have had more interest in Sara and Tolliver and Lena, but for me this wasn’t generated on a standalone basis in the book – and I think this book catered much more for regular readers than the first time visitor to Grant County. Fair enough, regular readers should have their loyalty rewarded, but first time readers such as myself still need to be drawn into the story, or perhaps have it pointed out clearly that it is an ongoing series, and it would be better to read from volume one. I remember picking up a copy of one of Stephen King’s Dark Tower tomes, and on the first page the author told me NOT to buy it unless I’d read the previous volumes. I know each novel in a crime series is usually a separate novel, but it can be irksome for readers who come in half way through!
For reference, I have put Karin Slaughter’s first novel, Blingsighted, beneath the links to Faithless. If I were you I would read the Grant County novels in order, and think twice before buying a book because it is presented as the latest bestseller at the bookstore without checking if it’s one of a series beforehand!
I may give it some time, and then try the first novel with a fresh mind, but for now I have a stack of books to catch up on reviewing already 
And the first Grant County novel: